On Mon, Sep 20, 1999 at 10:08:10AM -0700, John Waters wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> As a system integrator, I used to build control systems for customers using
> industrial/embedded PCs, but as Windows has replaced DOS in the commercial
> sector, unless I packaged my product as a proprietary system, many of my
> customers will query if they are advanced enough since they are still
> running on DOS. However, to me, I still find DOS the most economical and
> programmer friendly o.s. to use in many industrial applications, especially
> when a graphical user interface is not needed.
> Am I making a wrong decision of retaining a phasing out o.s. in my product?
> Or can anyone suggest me some ways to make my customers confident in my DOS
> based systems?
>
My suggestion is:
If your embedded system has enough memory/disk to run Windows, use Linux, which
will be much more efficient and stable on the same hardware.
If your system has small memory (<8MB) use DOS.
If you are brave and do not want to pay royalties, use the FreeDos
(http://www.freedos.org).
If you want to avoid Micro$oft bugs, use the DR DOS (which is Y2K
compatible)
(http://www.calderathin.com/products/drdos/drdos.html).
If you need some real-time processing, use the RT Linux, or if you have
a lot of money, buy QNX.
Certainly, my point of view is biased...
--
                                hope this helps
                              Wojciech M. Zabolotny
        http://www.ise.pw.edu.pl/~wzab  <--> wzab@ise.pw.edu.pl

http://www.debian.org  Linux - free OS for free people!